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Amidst Fan Frustration, Kentucky Contacts Top Transfer David Jones

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© Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky has had several players leave this offseason, with more expected to depart as they make their final decisions by the May 31st NBA Draft withdrawal deadline. However, they have yet to add anyone to the roster. With only eight scholarships taken, of the thirteen the NCAA allows, there are spots to be filled.

This has been greeted by plenty of fan frustration. With Kentucky’s freshmen anticipated to arrive on campus at the beginning of June, and the Wildcats set to play in GLBL Jam in Canada in mid-July, things must pick up soon.

With that said, on Wednesday, Kentucky reached out to St. John’s transfer David Jones, who is one of the better wing options remaining in the transfer portal. Other schools that have reached out include Arkansas (obviously), Memphis, UConn, and Xavier.

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Despite being the second leading scorer for the Red Storm (13.2 ppg), Jones entered the portal following the news that Rick Pitino would be taking the head coaching job. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that Jones has entered the portal or that Kentucky has expressed interest in Jones.

Prior to his time at St. John’s, Kentucky recruited Jones out of high school as a four-star recruit, even bringing him in for an unofficial visit to Lexington back in February 2020. However, Jones ultimately committed to Depaul, where he played for two seasons and averaged 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds his last season there.

Then last April, Jones entered the portal for the first time and Kentucky again expressed early interest before deciding it wasn’t a fit given the significant roles that Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Daimion Collins, and Chris Livingston were going to have.

As Kentucky reaches out this time, they do so with roles to be filled on the roster, and the Wildcats could certainly use a 6-foot-6, 210-pound wing with a career average of 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.

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BB Recruiting

BREAKING: Four-Star PG Acaden Lewis Commits to Kentucky over Duke and UConn, “You Can’t Beat What They Are Doing”

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has announced his commitment to Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
UK Athletics

It’s a good start to the weekend as Kentucky basketball has picked up a commitment. 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, picking the Wildcats over Duke and Connecticut.

Funny enough, during an unofficial visit in Lexington back in June, Mark Pope joked with fans that Lewis was committing to Kentucky. While Lewis didn’t commit that day, Pope was able to seal the deal a few months later.

Why Kentucky?

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“It felt like a community. Pope, he was in the hood with me. He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be. The system is great.”

Lewis joins five-star commits Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson in Kentucky’s class, and helps bolster the Wildcats’ class ranking up to second, only behind Duke. Both players recruited Lewis to join them, with Moreno joining him for part of his official visit to Kentucky back in October, including being featured in his photoshoot. Shortly after the visit, Lewis said in an interview about Kentucky, “You can’t beat what they were doing.”

While Moreno and Johnson were big recruiting victories, they were both players from Kentucky. This is Pope’s commitment from outside of the state, and he went up against the bluest of blue bloods in Duke, UConn, and North Carolina.

Now, can Lewis help Kentucky close the deal on consensus top 10 wing Caleb Wilson? The two have expressed a lot of interest in playing together, and Wilson is aiming to make a decision by December, with Kentucky as one of the two leaders.

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Scouting Report

Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well.

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Malachi Moreno Helping Kentucky Recruit Top 2025 Point Guard

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Five-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno is helping the Wildcats recruit one of the top point guards of the 2025 class Acaden Lewis.
UK Athletics

This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.

While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.

The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.

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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.

It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Mark Pope Hints at Next Basketball Commitment, “Details to Come”

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Kentucky basketball head coach Mark Pope hints at his next commitment, already with a top five class.
Chet White | UK Athletics

When Mark Pope was first hired by Kentucky in April, the biggest concern was if he could recruit. Within weeks, he assembled a staff and recruited the fifth-ranked transfer portal, including the likes of Jaxson Robinson, Amari Williams, and Lamont Butler.

Now nearly six months later, Pope has gotten some big high school recruiting victories, receiving commitments from five-star prospects Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson. While early, the Cats currently have a top-five class for 2025 and are the only program with multiple five-star commitments. Still going after multiple top names, the class is far from finished. In fact, another commitment may be on the horizon.

In an interview with the Sources Say Podcast, talking about his recruiting, Pope said that is currently in a chess match for one recruit.

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“Recently, in the fall — I can’t name names, but we’re trying all kinds of different things,” Pope said. “I’m a terrible, terrible chess player, but I love doing it. I do have one intense chess match on the board with a recruit that is for a commitment.”

“We’ll see if that comes to fruition. We’ll see. Details to come.”

Who could this player be? The Wildcats are still pursuing multiple five-star targets, but Pope’s comments are likely about Acaden Lewis or Caleb Wilson.

The former, a four-star combo guard, is expected to make a decision in early November, and will be in town for Big Blue Madness this Friday. The latter, a unanimous top-10 prospect, has been rumored to move his timeline up as well, however, there have been conflicting reports.

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Only time will tell…

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